Chestnut cake with salted caramel sauce

Our first Christmas was just around the corner. Itamar and I were talking about desserts. “Do you remember the chestnut cake we used to make at the OXO Tower Restaurant?” Giorgia, at the pastry, dropped the whisk she was holding and turned to us, drooling. By the time we were discussing the salted caramel sauce that went with the cake, she had nearly turned into a puddle. This is one of our most successful desserts and has gained us many compliments, not only from Giorgia; the fact that it is flourless is an added bonus. Many people find making caramel scary: they should, as it can be dangerous. Make sure to use a cloth and do not use your fingers for wiping or tasting. The first time I made a successful crème caramel as a teenager I very carefully poured the caramel into little ramekins and filled the empty pan with cold water. I felt so proud of myself until I decided to check whether the caramel had set by sticking my finger into it. It did set—on my fingertip, and was very painful to remove, so do wait before attempting to taste, touch or try it.

Makes a 9 in/24cm diameter cake, enough for 8 generous portions (you can halve the quantities and use a 7¼ in/18cm diameter tin if you prefer—the baking time will be the same)

For the cake

2 cups/250g cooked chestnuts

scant 1 cup/200ml milk

scant ¼ cup/50ml whiskey

4 large eggs, separated

⅓ cup/50g ground almonds

½ cup plus 2 tbsp/125g sugar

For the salted caramel sauce

heaped ¼ cup/75g sugar

generous 1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp/30ml water

scant ¼ cup/50ml double cream

generous pinch sea salt

Break up the cooked chestnuts a little, place in a saucepan, cover with the milk and set on a low heat to bring them slowly up to the boil. Watch that the milk doesn’t boil over. Cook slowly for 15–20 minutes until the chestnuts are really soft—check by pressing one to the side of the saucepan with a spoon; it should crush easily. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 20–30 minutes until just warm.

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a 9 in/24cm diameter cake tin with baking parchment.

Blitz the chestnuts and milk with a stick blender or in a food processor until they form a smooth, thick paste. Add the whiskey and blitz again. Fold in the egg yolks one at a time, then the ground almonds.

Use an electric whisk to whip the egg whites with the sugar until they are light and fluffy, and form a silky meringue. Take a large spoon of the meringue and stir it into the chestnut paste to loosen it. Then fold the rest of the egg whites in carefully, trying to keep as much air as possible.

Pour into the tin and smooth the top. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then turn the cake around so that it cooks evenly and bake for a further 10 minutes. It should be set to a light touch and your finger should come away dry. Allow to cool a little in the tin before taking out of the tin to cool completely. You can keep it covered in the fridge for a couple of days until you are ready to serve.

Mix the sugar, honey and water in a saucepan, making sure the sides of the pan stay clean. The best way to do this is to start by putting the honey in, then the sugar, then pour the water slowly in a circle down the sides of the pan. This should stop any little sugar crystals forming on the sides and ruining your caramel. Set on a high heat and bring to a rapid boil. Don’t stir it at all—if you feel the need, rotate the pan in a circular motion to mix a little.

While the sugar solution is boiling, warm the cream for 15–30 seconds in the microwave, or for a couple of minutes in a small pan over a low heat. It is best not to add cold cream to hot caramel as it will seize immediately.

When the sugar solution starts to change color and become golden, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the warm cream really slowly—use a long wooden spoon and stand away from the pan. Return to the heat to make sure all the sugar has dissolved and combined, then add a pinch of sea salt and remove from the heat again. Allow the sauce to cool before you try it—caramel is no laughing matter, as it gets really hot. Transfer to a pouring jug or other container. The empty pan will clean easily if you fill it with warm water and allow it to rest for a while.

You can make the sauce up to a week in advance and keep it in a covered container in the fridge. You may need to warm it slightly before serving, and you can do that in the microwave or on the stove.

I think this cake is best served warm, so pop each slice in the microwave for 30 seconds to heat up a little, particularly if you have been storing it in the fridge. Then just pour the caramel over and, if you want, serve with some sour cream on the side. If you don’t own a microwave, serve the cake at room temperature and heat the caramel on the stove before pouring it over the individual slices to warm them up.

Marzipan & almond cakes with roasted plums

A certain percentage of the population are “marzipan fiends.” They look at our dessert menu, see this and light up, their choice made in seconds (or years ago, actually). I’d like to say my husband is one such fiend, as he loves marzipan, but he is just as keen on chocolate, caramel, creamy things, fruity things, any dessert really.…

This makes 6 small individual cakes (I use baby loaf tins but round muffin tins will do the trick). You can double the recipe to make a 9 in/24cm diameter cake, enough for 10–12 people; just increase the baking time to 25–30 minutes

For the cakes

7 tbsp/100g butter

¼ cup/50g granulated sugar

generous ¼ cup/60g dark brown sugar

2 large eggs

¼ cup/30g whole wheat flour

a pinch of salt

generous ½ cup/80g ground almonds

scant ¼ cup/25g whole almonds, roughly chopped (I prefer them with the skin on)

3 tbsp/50g marzipan, broken into little chunks

For the roasted plums

4–6 plums (depending on size; I allow ½–1 per person)

½ vanilla pod (or substitute 2 star anise, for a different flavor)

½ cup/100g granulated sugar

Prepare six small individual tins or silicone molds—spray with butter spray or brush with melted butter. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Cream the butter and two sugars together in a mixer, or with a wide spoon in a bowl, until they are well combined and the butter starts to aerate. Don’t overwork the mixture until it is too fluffy, as this will make the texture too light and it will resemble a sponge; you are looking to create a heavy, sticky cake with a dense texture. Mix in the eggs one at a time, then add the flour, salt and ground almonds and combine well. Fold in the chopped almonds and marzipan chunks. Divide the batter between the baking tins.

Bake for 12–16 minutes until lightly golden all over the top. Don’t be tempted to leave the cakes in a little longer—they need to be gooey inside and the marzipan should stay soft and ooze. They may look a little pale, but the flavor will compensate for that. You can serve these straight away, but if you are preparing them in advance, allow to cool in the molds, then simply pop them out and store, covered, in the fridge.

Increase the oven temperature to 425°F.

Quarter the plums (or, if they are large, cut into six) and place in a baking tin or an ovenproof frying pan that fits them snugly. Scrape the seeds out of the half vanilla pod and mix with the sugar. Place the empty pod on the plums and sprinkle the sugar all over. If you decide to use star anise instead of vanilla, just place them with the plums. (If you can only find vanilla sugar rather than whole vanilla pods, use 50/50 vanilla sugar and granulated.)

Place the baking tin on the top rack of the oven and roast for 8–10 minutes. The cooking time really depends on how soft the plums are to start with; you want liquid to begin oozing out of them, so if they need a little longer, return them to the oven. Once the juices have started to run out, shake the tin well so that the plums are coated in the liquid and all the sugar is melted. Allow to cool down.

You can prepare the cakes and plums up to 2–3 days in advance and store them in the fridge until you are ready to serve. You can warm them a little in a microwave (10–20 seconds each) before serving with the plums and a large dollop of sour cream. Personally I love the contrast of cold plums spooned over warm cake, but you could do it the other way round and keep the cake at room temperature and warm the plums instead.